Paths of Resistance
by NebulousMistress
Summary: After 4 years of fighting both sides have grown tired. Danny hatches a plan to mend the burned bridges between himself and Vlad and hopefully achieve with friendship what violence never could. But friendship might not be possible for a reason neither of them could have ever forseen. Danny/Vlad, pompous pep co-written with Tangerine Catnip
1. Chapter 1

Co-written between Tangerine Catnip and NebulousMistress

A brand new RP, this one's paced a little differently from our other works. It's post-series (Danny's 17-18) but Phantom Planet never happened. Danny's grown up enough to realize how much of a dick he's been. And there are some other... differences...

The whole core flare phenomenon is discussed in greater length in various works by the NebulousMistress. This RP merely takes that phenomenon to a porny conclusion.

This story deals with odd sexual situations and elemental porn. We fully recognize it's not for everyone. Along those same lines, beware of science. Physics is not forgotten here.

This fanfic is spawned from refurbished RP logs. It has been edited and the voices homogenized.

* * *

Danny stood on Vlad's doorstep, staring at the entrance to the mansion like it was going to bite him. He could hardly believe he'd managed to get this far without chickening out again. All he had to do was ring the bell and hope he'd rehearsed his lines well enough.

He took a deep breath. He couldn't keep coming here night after night trying to force out the courage to face Vlad. This was his best chance, he probably wouldn't get another without people seeing him or without being yelled at for missing curfew. Willing his arms to move, Danny rang the doorbell and held his breath.

* * *

Vlad's perimeter cameras picked up the intruder, not that it was needed. Danny was being so unsubtle about it that Vlad's ghost sense alone could have informed him of his less than welcome visitor. He put his book down and picked up his cat, dropping her off inside her toy room and closing the door behind her. He stalked down the staircase into the foyer, took ghost form, and opened the front door to his annoying little intruder.

Danny opened his mouth then snapped it shut. He tensed as he sensed the elder's anger. His first instinct was to go ghost like Vlad had and fight him. His hands tightened into fists and he slowly counted to ten in his head. He had to keep control of his anger; punching everything wasn't going to solve his problems anymore.

"What?" Vlad snapped.

Danny looked up at Vlad, his mouth open before he realized he'd lost his whole memorized speech. He didn't know how to explain himself. He almost turned around and left without a word but the thought of having to come back in shame later...

"Oh fuck it," he hissed and threw himself at Vlad. He wrapped his arms around the elder man's back and pulled him into a firm hug.

Vlad froze, confusion reigning in his mind. Confusion so total he took human form even as two human arms stayed wrapped around his middle. What in the nine hells was going on here? His hands didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to hug back? If so then what was he supposed to do? Was this some sort of attempt to lure him into something? It wouldn't be the first time Danny pulled something like that on him. Vlad held his arms away from the boy, keeping them held outward. He had no idea what to do.

Sensing the moment was over, Danny released Vlad and hopped back a step. He smiled awkwardly and looked the now human Vlad over. He seemed the same as before; what exactly was supposed to change about him? Except the teenager noticed that Vlad was staring and suddenly retreat seemed like the better option. He had done what he said he would do and now had every right to run away with his tail between his legs.

"So.. um… later!" Danny turned on his heel to jump down the stairs and take off into the night.

Vlad's hand shot out and fisted in Danny's shirt before he realized what he was doing. Daniel had come to him... to give him... a hug? Two warring factions in Vlad's mind argued, each attempting to take control of the situation. The one that insisted this was a trick, part of some scheme, was quickly losing ground. In its place was an urge to demand... "Why?" he asked.

Danny made some sounds, tried shrugging his shoulders, even fidgeted. This was exactly what he had been worried about. "I... um..." He sighed and looked over his shoulder at Vlad. Danny slumped, being tense and nervous becoming too much work. "It was a stupid idea," Danny admitted. "I just thought maybe you might be less of a fruitloop if someone gave you a hug. You know, human contact and all that crap?"

First, Vlad was indignant. The boy thought he could... fix him with something as simple as a hug? As if he needed fixing... Then he was confused. After four years of harping and fighting and mocking and humiliating him near and far why would Daniel think to even attempt? Then angry. Daniel thought he had the right to pass **years** worth of judgment then come to him offering this? Whatever this was? Every single emotion played across his face as they warred, as he stared at Danny and considered...

Danny could sense the tension in the air. He pulled away from Vlad and fixed his shirt. "Look, I know it's not ideal that it's coming from me. I've already considered that. But if it's not coming from me well- who else even knows you need it? You're always hiding from other people. Hell, I probably know you better than anyone and I'm your archenemy!"

Here was something Vlad was used to. The confrontation in Danny's tone, the snappish behavior, the fight growing in him, the veiled insults... Familiar territory to give him a starting point, an idea what was going on. Somewhere from which to analyze the situation... and realize that Daniel didn't have an ulterior motive. If he had then then he'd have done something, punched him or mocked him or something more than... this...

The phantom feeling of arms around him taunted him, tempted him. "But... why bother?" Vlad asked. Daniel had never cared for what he needed, never allowed him to fulfill even basic needs. What had changed?

"Because you being insane doesn't do anyone any good," Danny said. "Because I've been fighting you with fists for years and things keep getting worse and worse. Your plans are hurting more people than just me and my family." Danny paused, taking a deep breath. "And maybe I realized that I'd been too harsh," he admitted. "I'm never going to forgive you for trying to kill my dad and seduce my mom. But you've not exactly had an easy time with your powers either and maybe making fun of you every chance I got was childish." Danny rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff lately."

"Like how to grow up," Vlad said snidely. Old habits died hard. But he was tired of fighting and snapping and lowering himself down to the level of an immature, self-centered child. And the boy was trying. Certainly trying harder than his previous attempts at apologizing. Maybe Daniel even meant it this time. Some small part of him anyway.

"I'm tired," Vlad found himself admitting. "Tired of fighting."

"Yeah," Danny admitted. "Me to." He looked down the driveway to the empty street then back up to Vlad. "But we can't stop fighting unless we come up with a better truce." He fixed Vlad with a glare, not daring to flinch. "There has to be a way you can be happy without destroying my family."

Blue eyes bored into his own. Vlad turned away first. He'd given up on Maddie well over a year ago. His need to kill Jack had faded into something less final, almost turned into a running joke in Vlad's own life. He couldn't rise to the bait and take the offered truce. But not for the reasons the boy expected. "I can't," he said. "I gave up on ever being happy long ago."

"Come on, Vlad, don't do this to me. The only thing worse than an insane villain is an insane suicidal villain." Danny huffed and stamped his foot like the child he still was. "You must have something you're up to if you're still running this town. What do you do all day?"

Vlad had given up on Maddie and on Jack. But if Danny continued to show this willingness to grow, to change, to finally think... "I do have something..." Vlad said. His demeanor changed, the old evil coming back as he pondered the one thing he wanted most.

Danny took an instinctual step back. His panic was quickly quelled by logic; he'd bested every ghost in the Zone, he could handle Vlad. "You mean me don't you?" he asked slowly.

"You're not as dense as you make yourself out to be," Vlad said. He took a step forward to counter Danny's pulling away.

"Yeah well..." Danny didn't feel like rising to the bait. He could _feel_ Vlad plotting form here but he wasn't going to let it get to him, not this time. "Do you want more hugs? 'Cause I wouldn't mind as long as no one sees."

"I wouldn't mind," Vlad purred before draping his arms around the boy. Those arms slowly tightened, his hands clawing into Danny's shirt. The boy's head fit just right under his chin...

Danny rolled his eyes but this was a lot better than last time when Vlad had just stood there. So far this plan might actually work out. The hugs weren't half as bad as he was expecting they would be. And maybe it was just his imagination but hugging Vlad felt different than when he hugged his mom or dad. There was this odd hum in the air when he got close; maybe it was something to do with them both being hybrids. His eyelids began to droop. This was kind of strange. Nice but strange...

Vlad hummed in his chest. This felt right. Very, very right. Like other times he'd been able to capture the boy but... better. Much better. For one thing, it was willing so he didn't have to worry about escapes or facing down an angry child in a tantrum. For another... Vlad's own arms encaged the boy. Danny's head rested against his chest. Vlad buried his nose in the boy's unruly hair. He smelled nice... Like fresh snow...

Danny's hands grasped the fabric of Vlad's suit. His chest pounded with an erratic heartbeat that seemed completely out of place. He gripped Vlad tighter, his mind swimming in a haze. Vlad was warm, really warm, and he felt like he wanted something… needed something...

A sudden clatter startled Danny hard enough to make him pull back from Vlad. He stumbled back just in time to see a chipmunk run out from the gap between two houses, the metal trash can lid he had upset rolling away on the concrete.

Vlad wanted to incinerate that damned chipmunk. Certainly he would be throwing Maddie outside and having her deal with it. She was a cat, surely she could hunt.

Danny shook his head and laughed it off. "Maybe I should go now. Mom and Dad will get worried. I'll come by tomorrow, after school. We can talk more about making a new truce then, okay?"

Vlad sighed. Ah, well. He could sense the nervousness in the boy currently imprisoned within his arms. He didn't want to unlock that cage. But then Danny was admitting he'd be back. Perhaps he could find some way to ensure the boy stayed. It would take time, effort, much more finesse than he was used to... "Tomorrow then," he purred. "We can discuss a new truce." It was the first step, anyways.

Danny extracted himself from Vlad. An unpleasant twinge pulled at him once the elder was no longer in contact with him. He thought of running back and grabbing Vlad again but there was no reason. Right?

He transformed, his ghost power flooding him and turning his hair silver and his eyes green. He was about to take off when a shiver arched down his spine. The concrete under him spider-webbed with a thin layer of ice, the pool expanding in a single direction back towards Vlad. Worried that Vlad would think this was some kind of attack, he leaped from the icy stoop and flew as fast as he could in the other direction.

The cold sensation of not being able to control his ice powers faded as he flew away. Danny shook his head as he headed home. What the hell was going on?

Vlad shuddered. The ice reaching for him was certainly odd, nothing he'd ever seem before. But the strangest part was his own powers, a spark jumping up his spine and reaching for the boy like a lightning runner. He touched the stone wall, grounding himself. Something had made his powers flare. Something that left him wreathed in the unmistakable scent of ozone.


	2. Chapter 2

Co-written between Tangerine Catnip and NebulousMistress

* * *

True to his word, Danny was on Vlad's doorstep the following afternoon, his backpack slung over his shoulder and a notebook in his arms. Its black cover was embossed with his trademark symbol scrawled in white correction fluid. He looked and felt a tad more confident that he did the previous night. He'd done some thinking since then and he felt at least somewhat prepared for round two.

The door opened. Danny pushed past Vlad and into the hallway of his mansion. "So where do you want to talk then?" Danny asked. "I don't suppose you have a special room for making truce agreements with archenemies?"

"Of course not," Vlad said. He had considered taking the boy to his plotting room but then he remembered the simulations he'd been working on. While the pages didn't exactly have **evil plans** in the header he still wasn't sure he should risk it. "Anywhere is fine," he said. "I've sent the staff away for the afternoon. No one will interrupt us."

Danny cocked his head. That seemed kind of strange but given they were going to be discussing their mutual secret maybe it was for the best.

There were some comfy chairs in a secluded alcove out of sight from the front windows. Danny picked out the most comfortable looking one and sat down. He flipped through his notebook. The book contained mostly crude drawings of ghosts with scribbled notes although there were sections detailing the evolution of some of his powers. He flipped to a blank page and marked it with the date and purpose.

Vlad followed Danny to where the comfy chairs beckoned. A small end table stood between the two chairs, waiting to hold refreshments or whatever else they decided to put there. "What are your terms for this truce?" Vlad asked.

Danny bit the end of his pen, running over the advice Jazz had given him in his head. "Well, the most important thing is that you don't hurt anyone but I can't exactly hold you to that," he said. "Sam complains about VladCo's animal testing all the time and I really don't have time to come after you every time you displace a family of bunny rabbits."

"Well, as you've already figured out, I have no intention of bowing to your little friend's ill-advised, impractical ideas," Vlad said. "I run companies. Some of those companies do science. Unless she'd rather volunteer as an unpaid human test subject herself, research will continue to involve animal testing. Furthermore, VladCo is a publicly traded company. I have to answer to shareholders the same as any other company. Business decisions are not something I can or will allow into any discussion of a truce."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Did you practice that one in front of a mirror?" he asked, kicking his legs out as he leaned against the arm of his chair. "How about a ceasefire of hostilities then? No intentional damage done to either party, including family and friends. Also I would appreciate it if you didn't unleash any more ancient all-powerful evils…"

A generic truce, one Vlad would find easy to manipulate, to work around, to avoid and alter. Apparently the boy had never negotiated before. "I should call off the summoning then," Vlad allowed. He kept his face carefully neutral, perhaps a little disappointed. It was a difficult expression to keep.

"I'm not kidding, you know," Danny snapped. "It's already happened twice and the last time you did it just to raise your approval rating. An approval rating you don't need because you can just cheat the election again by overshadowing the voters! Look, neither of us enjoyed that run in with Vortex; this is for your sake as well as mine."

Vlad didn't even hear Danny's outburst. He was too busy laughing that the boy had taken him seriously.

Danny buried his face in his hands, swearing under his breath. He grabbed his pen and scribbled out the terms he had just come up with. "I'm still writing this down," he warned.

Vlad calmed down, his laughter pretty much spent. He took a deep breath to dispel the rest of his giggles. "No intentional damage to friends or family," he said. "Thus far it's all about what I'm not allowed to do. But what about you? Since when are you allowed to continue with your whimsical destruction of my self and property? What are you willing to give up?"

"Well, I'm not going to attack you anymore," Danny said. "I thought that was kind of clear. Also I won't be destroying anything, at least not intentionally. If I catch Skulker trying to hunt the lions at the zoo I'm not going to give up on capturing him if he hides in your underwear drawer. I will give you special consideration, though. I won't stop you from rigging town elections or committing tax fraud or whatever. Just so long as no one gets killed."

"There's no fun in tax fraud," Vlad said dismissively. So the boy offered to not attack him. Interesting. And the 'just so long as no one gets killed' was so wonderfully broad... "Essentially you propose a nonaggression pact. You won't seek me out and I'll not seek you. It's a start. But you're forgetting one important thing, my dear Daniel. I trust your word as much as you likely trust mine. What happens when one of us invariably breaks this pact?"

Danny took a deep breath. He'd planned for this question, it was the cornerstone of his gamble. "That won't happen," he said. "Because we won't want to break the truce." He folded his hands in his lap and looked over to Vlad. His shoulders slumped as shyness took over, the same as it always did when he spoke from his heart instead of his ego. "It's a nonaggression pact but you're wrong about the 'seeking out' part. You and I both know no document is going to keep us to our words but what if we didn't want to break the pact because it would hurt the other person? What if we were friends?"

Vlad's eyebrows shot to his hairline. That was an unexpected turn of events. It had to be calculated. It had to be a trick. Nearly three years of watching, stalking, seeking, peeking... It couldn't be a serious suggestion. But he kind of wanted it to be. Even if he had no idea why. This called for something tactical. Something that would break down the boy's defenses and lay bare the truth. Something that he wouldn't be able to resist.

Without a word Vlad got up and left the room.

Danny closed his notebook and let out the breath he'd been holding. _Fucking hell, this was stupid idea._ Vlad was probably going to go get a weapon to chase him out with. He'd known that burying the hatchet with Vlad would be hard but so far 'hard' seemed optimistic. He put the notebook back in his bag but didn't make to leave; he would wait for Vlad to kick him out, then he could honestly say he'd tried his best.

Vlad returned with a bottle, corkscrew, and two glasses. He did not dare take the boy at his sober word. But perhaps with some of his inhibitions worn down he might make more sense. The glasses went to the small table nestled between their chairs. He popped the cork and set the port on the table to breathe. "And how do you propose we approach this... 'friendship' thing?" Vlad asked. "There is a great deal of history between us."

Danny's wide eyes looked from Vlad to the bottle on the table. "Um, well, I just figured we have to have something in common," Danny said. "You like football and we both have superpowers and... is that alcohol?"

"This is port, Daniel," Vlad explained. He figured letting the bottle breathe really wasn't that important given how little culture the boy really had. "It's a type of wine. I've developed quite a liking to it over the years." He poured a glass for himself. Deep red, almost purple liquid caught the light, sucking it in like a black hole. And then a glass for Daniel. He offered it to the boy.

Danny took the glass and looked at it for a long moment. He very rarely drank and he was still a good four years away from being legal. He licked his lips, unsure. It could have drugs in it or maybe poison... He shook the thought from his head; if he wanted to win Vlad's trust he had to be willing to give it as well. If that meant drinking a few sips of this... stuff… then he could manage.

Danny took a small sip. The strong flavor exploded over his tongue, surprising him so much he nearly choked. That was definitely a long shot away from soda pop. He noticed Vlad watching him and he smiled back as best he could. "Wow that's… well I don't really have anything to compare it to," he said. "It's a lot different than beer though."

"The beer your father drinks is glorified horse piss," Vlad agreed. "This... is not anywhere near comparing to that." He took a sip of his own glass. Hmm. It did need to breathe. He wrapped his hands around the glass, letting the heat speed up the process.

"Yeah, well, fancy tastes work if you're wealthy enough to afford them."

"Ffft," Vlad dismissed. "Fancy tastes aren't a factor of money. They're a factor of having good taste. Something I tried and failed to instill in Jack even before."

Danny tried another sip. It was sweet but not in the same way as cake or candy. His chest began to feel warm. "Anyway, I figure we should at least try. I mean, there's a huge age gap but people of different ages can be good friends sometimes. And you said so yourself, you're sick of fighting. And the... um... the hugs worked out just fine."

"How would you suggest we go about this, then?" Vlad asked. He honestly didn't remember how to go about this whole 'friendship' thing.

"Well, spending time together is important isn't it?" Danny asked. "I make time to hang out with Sam and Tucker, surely it works the same way?" He bit his lip in thought before taking a pull of his drink. "Maybe we could make a schedule so I can visit once a week? Or I could text you and ask if you're free?" It felt strange to be referring to such casual things with Vlad. He couldn't even imagine texting him like he would his other friends. Vlad would probably correct his grammar.

Vlad hummed in thought. Right, 'spending time together' was usually a component of friendships. It had been so long since he had one that he was rather rusty. At least the idea of scheduling made sense. "For now at least we might try and schedule time," he said. That way if and when Daniel decided this was a bad idea and reneged on their agreement Vlad wouldn't have had to shuffle around anything important.

Danny nodded. "Cool, we can meet up and have cookies and tea or something." He chuckled softly even though he wasn't sure exactly what was funny. He lifted his glass but found he had already drained it. When had that happened? He sat back in his chair, feeling oddly light and buzzy. His nervousness was getting harder to hold on to. "I'm sure it will be awkward at first but if we can work through that maybe everything will get better? I think it will get better..."

Vlad tipped the bottle against Danny's glass, refilling it. The boy drank much faster than he realized and Vlad was willing to use that to his advantage. "I can teach you how to play chess," he offered. "And while it's not quite my favorite activity I do know you enjoy flying. But, really, Daniel. Why now? I thought you hated me. Sometimes it seems you always have."

Danny pulled his legs up and crossed them, resting his hands in his lap. "You probably won't believe me," he said. "But the truth is I don't like hating things. Especially not people. I don't hate Dash even though he's a bully and a jerk, he's just aggressive and dumb and can't help himself. If push comes to shove even he'll do the right thing. Even if it's just for a moment. Then there's all the ghosts. They all have their own reasons for what they do and they can't help it either. It's just in their nature to act chaotic and evil. If they weren't obsessed and dangerous they wouldn't be ghosts. I can't let them do as they please but I don't punish them either, unless you count being inside the thermos for a few hours." He smiled at that; it was pretty cramped in there but it wasn't **that** bad.

"But it's not the same for you," Danny continued. "I gave concessions to everyone except my archenemy. I don't willfully attack Skulker or smash Ember's guitar or take away the Box Ghost's boxes." Danny felt an odd rush of emotion he wasn't expecting and he had to force back the urge to cry. "I don't know why. Maybe it's because you were threatening me on such a personal level. My family's safety means more to me than anything else and that was way too much to risk and..." He broke off suddenly as he realized he should not have drank so much. It didn't stop him from taking a long swallow of port to try and steady himself. "You were so much stronger than me and it was obvious you were too crazy to reason with and I guess I was scared. Scared you might win, scared I would lose everything. And that fear just turned into this searing hate." Danny took a long ragged breath, suddenly at a loss for words. He had never thought he would ever be able to admit that, to get it off his chest. It felt wonderful and horrible at the same time.

Vlad watched the Danny's outpouring of admission with cold calculating eyes. He looked at the data, attempted to suss out meaning, only to find nothing untoward, nothing unlikely, nothing except bold, unabashed truth. Daniel... had his reasons to hate him, yes. But if he was to be believed... "What changed?" Vlad asked. "I made you hate and you hated that more than you hated me. But what made you able to give it up?" _What did I do to deserve this?_

Danny winced; he hoped Vlad wouldn't take this as an insult. He licked his lips and looked his tormentor of four years square in the eyes. "Because I'm not scared of you anymore," he said. "I always knew that under all that evil and showboating you were just as confused and lost as I was. I used it to fuel my insults. You were like a perfect example of what would happen if I didn't keep track of what mattered most. That probably scared me even more than what might happen if I failed to protect everyone." An image of the twisted face of his evil future self flashed in Danny's imagination, making him shudder. He willed the sudden shock away. "I'm older now. I've had my powers for long enough to know what I can do with them and how I should use them. I know who I am, and I know I won't turn into you and... I'm not scared anymore. And if I'm not scared then what reason do I have left to hate you? I mean I kind of owe who I am to you in some messed up way. Maybe it's time I try to make up for the mistakes I made."

Vlad nodded. It all boiled down to fear. Danny had been afraid of him. If only he'd shown it, given in to it more often, then Vlad would have had the ammunition he needed to bring the boy to his knees long ago. But then they wouldn't be here, Danny spilling his heart out over glasses of port. "'There is no greater fear than fear of the unknown'," Vlad murmured. "A writer of some... ill-repute said that. And yet I was never an unknown. You were always the unknown. What would you do? What would you choose? How would you react? What was your future? I don't think I was what you feared. No. You feared yourself."

Vlad was about to dismiss the boy and his fanciful need to 'redeem' him or whatever heroic nonsense he was planning. But a small voice in his own mind stopped him. _He feared himself. Just as you fear yourself._

Danny looked at his thumbs, lining up the fingertips then separating them. Vlad was probably right about that, in fact it made sense but he was a little too hazy to think about it right now. All that mattered was that he'd said it. Vlad was predictability cold about it, but what else could he have expected. He wondered about leaving but he still had more he wanted to say. He needed this. Vlad had haunted his life for years and he craved some kind of resolution, something to make it all worthwhile. An end to that chapter of his life. "You haven't tossed me out yet. If you're looking for some exploit you can use to turn this on me you won't find it. If I thought there was one I wouldn't have told you." Danny looked up, his lips curved in uncertainty. "I've answered your questions so now it's your turn. Why are you even bothering to ask me about all this?"

"Because I have to know," Vlad said. "Because I've been lied to before by people who claimed to be my friend. Lied to, used, abused, left for dead, all by people who claimed to love me, to be my friend, to be the best of friends. And even by you. I have to know that that's not what's going to happen again. But I don't know if I can, Daniel. A friend might use all the pretty words in the world and then turn around and stab me again. It's happened before. I need to know that this isn't some trick, some ploy. That you're not going to turn around and steal what love I have left. Or stab me in the back and leave me to bleed out in the gutter. Or abandon me to a fate of your own making while you go off and..." Vlad took a shaky breath and a deep draught of port before looking Danny right in the eyes. "I need to know why, Daniel. Because only if I know why will I be able to bring myself to trust you enough to believe you're not lying to me."

"Alright... I understand that." Danny felt a twinge in his chest. He didn't know a lot about Vlad's history, he hadn't cared to know before but this seemed to make sense from what he knew of the man. Then a little tidbit slid into place, settling deep in the pit of his stomach. "And one of the people who betrayed you was my father," he realized.

"Your father was the first person I ever really trusted," Vlad admitted. A deep sigh broke his words, almost stopping them. Almost. "And the last. He taught me how to trust, how to feel, how to really... know a person and just... how to enjoy companionship. Everything I knew about friends and what they did for each other. And then..." He seemed to pull away, to curl in on himself without even moving.

They sat in silence for a long moment. Alcohol and emotion and nerves buzzed around in Danny's head like wasps. "Vlad… I-" He trailed off, his words dying without an idea behind them. Danny sighed and got to his feet. "Even if words don't mean anything I'll do what I can to earn your trust and I'll stand by it." Danny found himself moving and a moment later he was beside Vlad's chair. He reached out a hand hesitantly, resting it on Vlad's shoulder. He had meant it as a small gesture but the moment of contact felt distant and unhelpful. There was only one thing for it.

Hugging a man sitting down proved a lot harder than he expected. Danny stood awkwardly until, not quite sure what to do with his feet until Vlad pulled Danny into his lap. It wasn't a large chair but neither of them were very large men. It was a tight fit but Vlad made it work, even if it meant being stabbed by an elbow here or a hip bone there or a foot thrown over an armrest, it was worth it.

Vlad had forgotten what this felt like, what being in comforting arms really felt like when he was hurting. He was so used to being alone that he'd forgotten. Possessive arms held Danny tight, wouldn't let him go. He buried his face in the boy's neck and just breathed, trying to keep control over himself. It didn't work.

Danny settled into Vlad's lap. The oddness of the situation flew all through his buzzed mind. This was a lot more comfortable than trying to hug while standing. He squeezed Vlad tightly, feeling an overwhelming sense of calm settle over him. The stress of the last hour melted away as a crackle of energy tickled his nerves. It felt so strange but at the same time completely natural. Somehow it meshed with how tightly he was being held. A whole new sensation began to creep over Danny. He recognized some of it, the desire to protect something, to cherish, to take care of something and keep it from getting hurt again. He wanted to help Vlad. Not just for himself or the city but for the sake of the man himself.

Danny's eyes fell half-closed and he pulled away just enough to get Vlad to look up from his neck. A charge of sensation shocked through Danny when he looked into Vlad's eyes. He could see hurt in them, hatred. But he could also see a spark, a tiny little speck of hope for something more. Danny leaned close and pressed his lips to Vlad's.

Vlad froze for a long moment. He had no idea what was going on. He felt lips on his, sparks along his skin...

No. Vlad pulled away, a harsh gasp on his lips. Confusion, wariness in his eyes. And fear. Then as open as those eyes had been to the world... they closed, becoming cold and hard again.

Danny felt the sparks of electricity all fizzle. It felt like suddenly finding a worm in an apple, everything going so well only to crash and burn without a second's notice.

Whether it was his own reaction or if Vlad pushed him Danny never knew but a second later he was on the floor. He had kissed Vlad? What! Why?! Why in hell had he done that! Confused and frightened, Danny looked up at the elder. The glare he got in return cut into him like a knife. Instinct kicked in and Danny grabbed his bag and fled. The sound of the front door slamming behind him echoed through the manor.

The only trace that Danny had been there at all was a thin covering of frost on the arms of Vlad's chair and the ire of the man sitting there. Sparks danced along Vlad's fingertips, tracing the leaf-like patterns of frost on the chair arms. Fury burned in him. He would **not** be taken advantage of, not again.

He threw himself out of the chair and grabbed the half empty bottle of port. No idea, no plan, not thinking... The crash of glass drew him to some semblance of reality. The stain of red on gray stone mocked him as it dripped down the wall. Like blood... Vlad stormed off. He had work to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Co-written between Tangerine Catnip and NebulousMistress

* * *

Vlad sat at his desk. Pages upon pages of evil ideas were strewn around him, on the desk, across the chair arms, over the floor... At least they'd started out as evil ideas. Plots and plans and revenge to be taken for slights brought against him, for acquiring that which he needed, for making people pay for what they'd done. For Jack's incompetence, deceit, the callous disregard with which he'd been tossed aside like a disposable toy all those years ago. For Maddie's constant distant hovering, never knowing just what to make of him, the bipolar shifts between deep friendship and seething hatred, always bouncing back and forth even decades ago before the accident. For Daniel and how he dangled that blasted truce in front of his face, promising friendship and understanding and maybe something like an end to this blasted aloneness, this pain, this encompassing anger and then revealing his true intentions by trying to take physical advantage of him!

Vlad snarled in his office. An errant page was destroyed as his hands found it, needing something to rip apart.

He threw himself out of his chair to pace again. A nice little ring in front of his desk was the only surface not covered in papers. Vlad paced this ring, his mind going over the events again and again and again. He'd gotten the boy drunk to ascertain his honestly, found him growing more and more pliant, more willing to speak as the alcohol hit his system. But then something went wrong somewhere. He hadn't expected to reciprocate, to answer truthfully as well. Words he'd not said aloud in years, not even allowed himself to **think**, came out of him with minimal prompting. And then the boy had tried to hug him and something went odd.

He remembered electricity, sparks along his nerves, his core awakening. It was an odd happenstance given he wasn't under any sort of assault or exposure, he wasn't even in ghost form. And the boy's core awakened as well; the frost left on the chair, the floor, his lips...

Vlad didn't realize his fingers had come up to caress his lips until he tasted skin. He looked at his own hand, almost unseeing as faint white sparks danced along his skin at the mere thought...

Whatever had happened last night, whatever the boy had meant to do, it all hinged on this annoying, inconvenient happenstance. There was no reason for his core to flare simply due to the presence of another core. He had to research this phenomenon. Surely there was some way to control his own reaction. Then he could use the boy's against himself.

It was only fair.

* * *

The library deep in the heart of the Ghost Zone was an oddity even here. It was technically the lair of the Ghostwriter, a ghost with the power to warp reality to his will. He would be more dangerous if it weren't for his obsession; his books kept him content to spend his time writing poetry. His lair was open to the public and worked much like a normal library.

Not that the library was truly mundane. It was a library in the Ghost Zone, after all. General knowledge, ancient history, fiction, works in dead languages, books of magic and science, of the present and the future, anything and everything that could be collected. Many shelves were stocked with volumes completely unique to the Ghost Zone either through design or through the destruction of all tangible copies. All of it was there for perusal so long as the rules of the library were followed.

Though he wouldn't be caught dead in a normal library, Vlad often found himself coming here while studying or planning. A visit here never seemed to come unrewarded.

The place was staffed by all manner of imps, shadows, and small ghosts who managed the collection while their master wrote his epics in his study. Provided they could be reasoned with they were as potent a resource as the library itself. An imp hovered lazily behind the reception desk, its beady black eyes vacant as it waited to be of service.

Vlad took a calming breath and strode up to it. The ugly creature turned to him as he drew close. Vlad growled at the creature, attempting to prove to it that he commanded respect and deserved its service. The imp's black eyes stared back dispassionately, acknowledging neither power nor ability. Well, that didn't work. Vlad regrouped, tugging his cape around him to emphasize his regal air. The imp shifted ever so slightly, indicating they would be responding to finesse today. "I require a topic," he said. "Ghost cores and involuntary flares. Especially when... interacting with another."

"Core flares you say?" the imp asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully with a long clawed finger. "We have many books on that topic, perhaps we could narrow it down? If you're looking for something to teach to a little one we have some picture books. Fairly straightforward, useful for giving the 'growing up' talk. Some say we shouldn't have books for such early ages but the Writer believes the sooner they learn about puberty the more prepared they'll be for it."

"Well, I'm sure I don't need such simple information," Vlad said, waving dismissively. "I know that cores flare and all that. I just don't see why they'd flare around another ghost."

The imp raised an eyebrow. It struck him as odd that a ghost like Plasmius wouldn't know but he knew better than to second guess the patrons. "Well… If you're looking for that, we do have section of erotic fiction in the back."

"What does porn have to do with this?" Vlad demanded. He snarled before trying to bring himself under control. This imp was deliberately being obtuse, that had to be it.

The imp shrugged. "Well I'm not here to judge, sir, but I hear only a limited number of ghosts have the raw ability to flare without stimulation. Lately it's become something of a fantasy."

Vlad's hands itched with the urge to ectoblast the imp into dust, wrath of the Writer be damned. All he wanted was some information on the core flare phenomenon so he could figure out why in hell it inspired Daniel to... Oh...

Vlad's fury turned inward and ectoplasm rushed to his face, giving him a purplish blush. He covered his face with one hand to hide his shame before gesturing with the other. "Just... just give me the picture books," he grumbled.

"Will do, sir." The imp bared pointed teeth in a parody of a smile, uncaring of Vlad's embarrassment. "I'll also bring you some others you might find useful. We have some books about how to maximize the efficiency of a flare, though it's mostly sex positions." The imp bowed and flew off to round up the books, depositing them in a pile on a nearby table. The front cover of the book on top was proudly titled _Your Changing Body and You_ in block capitals. Vlad quickly grabbed that book and slapped it cover-down. He glared around him, daring anyone to say anything about it.

Other than the usual imps, shadows, patrons hiding in corners, the library was quiet. Very well then. Vlad lifted the stack and stalked into a tiny, secluded, darkened corner. Hopefully no one would find him here and observe what he was reading.

He picked up the first book and its annoyingly wholesome, infantile cover. He flipped through the pages till he saw the word core, resting his head in his hand as he read the short sentences.

_Cores are special balls of energy inside you. They can help you do amazing things!_ The page was dominated by a picture of a little ghost boy with a glowing orb superimposed over his chest. His features were twisted in an overly cheery grin. Vlad had the urge to sneer in return.

_All cores have a special element. Some elements are fire, electricity, ice, water, earth, light and darkness._ Pictures representing all of these elements were splashed over the page.

_Be careful with your new powers. If you don't use them enough your core will get all blocked up with energy and make you feel bad._ The overly cartoonish ghost boy had returned, this time with a giant frown on his face.

_When you grow up your core will help you find a very special person just for you._ A little ghost girl with an identical core in her chest joined the boy. Both drawings were eying each other from across the page.

_When you hug you very special someone your core will be so happy it will cause a burst of energy. This is called a core flare. Don't worry, your core will never hurt your special someone since their core will protect them._ The two figures were holding each other a huge red heart drawn above them. Vlad held the book at arm's length, a sneer of distasteful worry etched across his features. He closed that book and stuffed it into the bottom of the pile so he wouldn't have to look at it again. He picked another book off of the stack, one of a very different genre and age category.

A diaphanous woman swooned in the arms of a large green ogre-ish monster on the front cover. The title _Fiery Surrender_ was written in flowery red scrawl. Vlad opened the book. It appeared to be some sort of fiction. He flipped through it, noting the vapid plot and shallow characters. But then around the middle...

_Her core ached for his touch. Burning fingers trailed lines of flaming heat down her skin, awakening the shadow within her. "Oh, Antonio," she cried, her shadow reaching for him. His fire burned hotter in her darkness, engulfing them both as-_ Vlad stopped mid-sentence and skipped ahead a few pages.

_The fire burned around them as he finally touched her weeping petals of darkness. His burning shaft ached to engulf itself in her core as she yearned to take his fire into her._ "Oh my..." He skipped ahead again.

_Darkness burst forth from her core, flaring deep in his arms as his fire-_ Vlad quickly closed the book. That was... very, very odd. He picked up another book, hopefully one that made sense.

This book seemed less like a trashy romance novel and more like a self-help book. The pages in the beginning were a brief summary of what the core of a ghost was. That quickly led into a history of a core's usage in marriage and breeding contracts, delving into an almost astrological system of personality prediction. Core powers were deeply linked with emotional strengths and the theory assumed that personality could be predicted with certainty based off of those strengths. Ice cores were born from a strong sense of loyalty, justice and order. Fire from chaos and raw emotion, electricity from focus and intensity, earth from kindness and love. The list went on and Vlad skipped ahead.

According to the book the emotional connections of love and the physical stimulations of sex activated the core's powers. With nowhere else to go that power wrapped around the partner. The end result was an explosion of energy that heightened sensation and orgasm to a level that the book had a great deal of fun trying to describe. After that the narrative devolved into a collection of bedroom tips; facts about the nature of cores and how they could be abused in the bedroom.

This was possibly the most elaborate joke Vlad had ever encountered. That or twenty years of being unwilling to attempt to mate with ghosts had been a detriment to his sexual well-being. This would explain why humans had never felt right after the accident. Vlad snorted. That was an understatement if he'd ever made one. Sex with humans was so terrible, so unfulfilling, that he'd given it up completely over a decade and a half ago. These books... This whole concept... It claimed to explain why.

But it couldn't be. He'd had core flares before, always as a result of a power surge, of exposure to enough electricity to fry a lesser being. Sure they were euphoric, left him giggling and shaky in their wake. But surely that wasn't... Vlad couldn't believe he was contemplating this. He'd long viewed sex as a weakness of flesh, something beneath him. Instead he was simply doing it wrong?

Vlad flipped ahead to find a chapter on elemental masturbation. He read further. Interesting. Apparently his experience with flares was only the first step. This book was geared toward pure ghosts but given the multitude of suggestions given he figured he could use the rather straight-forward nature of the human body to his advantage. Vlad set that book aside.

He spent the next fifteen minutes flipping through the rest of the books: a few more picture books, a self-help book for dealing with core dysfunction, a relationship guide for couples with only one core-bearing participant, and a pocket-sized manual directed towards teens warning about impaired judgment while under the influence of a flare.

The pocket manual was interesting. In the few years after the end of puberty the effects of core flares would be highly unpredictable and more powerfully driven. Only as time wore on and maturity set in could a core's actions be considered controlled. Vlad was already considering how he could use this against Daniel when next they met. Well, maybe not. A fly-by attack over the city would not be conducive to using the information gleaned here. He'd need to make sure their next meeting was... advantageous. Vlad set the pocket manual aside with the other. A copy of the Ecto Sutra joined it. He'd had enough embarrassment for one day. He needed to take the rest of this at something resembling a sane pace in more comfortable, familiar surroundings.

The imp checked out his books without comment and Vlad left the library with a little more strut in his step then when he had arrived. When he got home he would have to remember to contact Skulker about the updated ecto-paralysis darts.

* * *

Danny's eyes were closed but he wasn't quite asleep. He was trying to get back to sleep since he could sense it wasn't time for school yet, but doing so was proving difficult. He tried to roll over but something tugged on his arm, keeping him still. He opened his eyes halfway, saw the restraint holding his wrist down. Oh, that would be why, then. He shivered; it was really cold in his room. And what happened to his blanket? And since when did he sleep strapped to his bed? Wait a minute...

Fuck. He woke up enough to realize he wasn't in his room anymore. Danny closed his eyes, trying to decide what was the worst case scenario for being kidnapped so he could hope against it. He opened his eyes again, finding himself in a laboratory. He could have guessed as much, it was always a laboratory. The good news was it wasn't Fenton works, the bad news was he didn't recognize it. He was strapped to a table, his limbs bound outstretched. Ghost proof straps, naturally.

Guys in White? Nocturne? He'd been stolen from his bed, he knew that much. So it had to be someone who knew both his hybrid status and where he lived. So that narrowed it down to all of his enemies. Wonderful. Danny took another look around, looking for more clues, something to identify... Everything seemed normal, normal enough to rule out a lab in the Ghost Zone. That only left one possibility. "God damn it, fruitloop!"

Vlad could sense the boy waking up, taking stock of his surroundings, jumping to conclusions... "I see you're awake," he said, purring in the darkness outside of Danny's field of view. "Good. That will make this much easier."

Danny twisted around, trying to see where the voice was coming from. "Hello, Vlad," Danny said, covering his words in a thick layer of sarcasm to distract from the internal panic that was trying to take control. For most of the last week he'd been dwelling on that moment when he accidentally kissed Vlad. He hadn't told anyone, not even his friends when they asked how his plan had worked out. He'd been scared, terrified all week that some punishment was hanging over his head. And it looked like he'd been right.

Fuck! Why had he done it? He didn't understand. There'd been no reason for him to kiss Vlad; he couldn't even bring up the courage to kiss girls unless they started it and here he was putting moves on his forty-odd year old enemy! And yet every time he thought about it he remembered warmth, comfort, this sense of belonging, things he didn't usually attribute to Vlad. Danny blushed even as he glared with the best poker face he could manage.

Vlad circled around, his suit pressed and his bearing haughty and domineering. It covered his inherent nervousness over the fact that this was an experiment. It might go horribly wrong and he knew it. But he wasn't going to dare allow Danny to know that... "Good evening, Daniel," Vlad said. "Or perhaps it's morning. Depends on your definition." He looked down at his fingernails, nonchalantly shining them on his lapel. "I suppose you're wondering why you're here."

The teenager turned away, glaring at the wall. "No, I'm wondering why you're doing a bad James Bond villain impression," he snapped. "Where's the laser you're going to use to cut me in half?" Danny pulled on his bounds again. They felt more ghost proof that human proof. Maybe if he tried to slide his hands out...

"Ah, and there's that mouth of yours," Vlad drawled. "Let's see if we can't put it to better use, shall we?" Vlad rubbed his hands together before brushing his fingers just across the skin of Danny's belly. The tiniest spark jumped to his skin. "Tell me, my boy, have you ever been struck by lightning?"

Danny jumped as the spark hit him. A small shock of pain skittered across his bare chest. Wait.. why wasn't he wearing a shirt? He had one on when he went to bed… He shifted uncomfortably. Wait, Vlad wasn't actually going to hurt him, was he? Normally Vlad would just rant when he captured him then leave to go do something evil. Was this a threat? "No- I mean yes," Danny stammered. "How do you expect me to keep track of everything I get hit with? Who the hell knows?"

Vlad paused, thinking about his next words. "I suppose it wouldn't be important to you," he admitted. He reached for a bowl on the table next to Danny, pulled from it an ice cube. "Allow me to rephrase. Have you ever lain naked in the snow? Nothing separating you from those big fat flakes of ice drifting down from the sky, surrounding you, enveloping you? Almost a caress..." He trailed the ice down the boy's middle, sliding it along his skin from his neck down to his navel.

Danny's breath hitched, his eyes gone wide as the ice touched his skin. He wiggled, trying to buck his bonds, only to go slack as the cube slid down his belly. How… how did Vlad know about that? He'd only done it once! The snow against his hands had felt so good and he just wanted to see...

Danny shivered, his eyes darting away from Vlad. He could feel it happening again, that odd haze that had gotten him into this mess. He opened his mouth to snark but he couldn't put the words together. He glanced up at Vlad before he could stop himself, confusion and fear showing in his eyes.

Danny's mouth fell open and Vlad took the opportunity, placing the half-melted ice cube on the boy's tongue. Vlad's eyes danced with something clinical, something anticipatory despite his carefully calm expression. "Now imagine that feeling again," he purred. "Enveloped in ice, the cold awakening every nerve in your body..." Both hands very carefully brushed Danny's skin, barely contacting him. The purpose of this exercise wasn't to stimulate him as a human but as a ghost. Vlad concentrated as he worked, sparks dancing down his fingers. His hands stroked every inch of skin they could reach, always almost touching but not quite. A bead of sweat fell down his temple as the sting of ozone stung his nose. This was hard work.

Danny wanted to snap at Vlad, to tell the fruitloop he didn't have to do anything. But something in his tone made it impossible not to remember. The snowdrift had conformed to every inch of his body like a freezing hug. It had been so very relaxing... Caressing... Like being touched everywhere...

Danny flinched at the sparks, expecting pain, but all he received was a buzz. A soft pleasant tingle sunk below his skin and spread rapidly through his body. He made an odd strangled sound, a scream turning into a yelp then getting lost in a gasp. His eyes flashed icy blue and started to glow. The metal table behind him grew colder and colder, frost spreading from his body as the water in the air froze.

Danny moaned. He had no idea what was going on but he really wanted it to stop. Or get stronger. Or something! He slammed his head back against the table. "Vlad… Vlad!" He wasn't sure if he was trying to get the man to stop or to keep going.

Vlad pulled away to observe his handiwork. The boy's eyes glowed icy blue, his skin flushed and wanting. His voice was reduced to begging and moaning, calling his name in an almost wanton tone. Ice crusted the lab table and the restraints keeping Danny contained. And those restraints... He strained against them like he needed to touch something. Or someone... It was involuntary, wasn't it... The boy hadn't known what he was doing when he kissed him. He hadn't known what it might mean or what was happening. He'd only acted, impulse sending him headlong down a path he hadn't even known was there.

Vlad wondered how far he could push this before the boy broke. He shuddered as he forced his core awake, sending current through his body. And then he grabbed the boy's hips.

Danny screamed, tension leaving his body frozen in place as the electricity coursed through him. He could sense it ripping through him like the worst of electrical shocks but all he could feel was cold and warm and blinding, mind-numbing pleasure.

Vlad withdrew and Danny collapsed, still shivering with aftershocks. Icicles dripped from the sides of the table, one even reached the floor where it began to form a small puddle of ice. Danny could feel the sensation in his groin; he knew what was happening but he didn't want to look. That rush of blood whenever he let his mind wander to what Paulina would look like without her shirt, it was just the same. The frustration was there, too. Vlad had done this to him with so little contact but he still wanted more. Needed it. His hips bucked against his will, needing something to rub against, any kind of friction.

A chocked sob broke from Danny's chest. His mind was swimming in hormones but he still had the ability to feel mortified by all of this. The worst part was he knew that if he were free he'd be on top of Vlad in a heartbeat. "You'll pay for this fruitloop. I'll bend you over this lovely lab table of yours and make you beg for mercy." Those words echoed through Danny's head and he knew he meant them, even though the very idea terrified him.

Vlad pulled away, gasping with exertion. He wiped the sweat from his brow as he found himself gazing at every plane and curve of Danny's body, seeing him arch and squirm and react with the power coursing through him. Vlad purred, felt his core shudder and spark within him. He wanted to keep going. He desperately wanted to keep going, to undo those restraints and dare the boy to try, to dare try to bend him over the table. He wanted to grasp the boy's wrists and complete the circuit, to feel his blood run cold with ice, to close his eyes and succumb to the power within them.

Vlad kept his distance. These thoughts intrigued as much as they disturbed him, woke something within him that he thought long dead. He adjusted his pants, shocked that he had an erection. Odd, that. Not nearly as intense as the shaft that stood weeping in Danny's pajama pants but certainly more of a reaction than he was used to. "If you're lucky you might someday get the chance to try," he purred. Wait a minute... That was not what he'd meant to say. He tried again. "Beg me to let you go and we'll see." That wasn't it either. What was going on?

Shining blue eyes narrowed, locked on Vlad. His black hair was dusted with flakes snow and strands of glowing white. It was so easy to channel his frustration into anger even as he desperately tried to stop himself. "I'll freeze the core of the sun before I beg to you, Masters," Danny howled before thrashing against his restraints like an animal. It never even occurred to him to transform.

Danny fell back against the table, panting and seething. He glared at Vlad, glared hard and angry as he imagined pouncing the man, holding him down and feeling that shock of electricity again, uneven shocks of pleasure as intense as the pain he should feel from the attack. Oh, but he wanted to give, too. He wanted to freeze Vlad from the inside out, make him feel exactly what that bath in the snow was like. He hated Vlad, hated him, wanted him, needed him...

Vlad shuddered, taking an involuntary step forward. Such power. Such elemental fury, all trying to focus itself onto him. He wanted to touch that power, let it course through him, overwhelm him. He wanted to taint that ice with ozone, to watch sparks dance within crystal. He reached out to try and touch that straining skin.

Vlad saw his own hand reaching for the boy and forcibly pulled himself back. He gazed at his hand in wonder, in confusion. This compulsion was strong, so very strong. So strong he didn't know what he was doing anymore, so strong Danny likely had no idea what he was saying. He had to get out of here. Before he found himself tripping the override that would let the boy loose. Before he plastered himself to icy cold skin, chasing his own sparks. Before he said anything else he might regret. Not just for his sake but for the boy's. He needed to get out of here before the boy got a chance to act out these compulsions.

Vlad was so close that Danny could see the sparks fly. His own power rushed in his ears at he strained against the bonds, desperate to get in contact with the other power source. Then he noticed Vlad was backing away. The thought that Vlad was going to leave him like this without letting him connect brought a whole new wave of fury. "Vlad!" he screamed, baring his teeth in a snarl. "Where do you think you're going, you coward! You started this!" His core burned icy cold. Directionless frost suddenly found a target, a tongue of ice spreading along the floor with eerie speed right for Vlad, flash-freezing its way towards the elder, aiming to seal him to the floor where he stood. Anything to keep the electricity, to stop it from leaving.

It took all the effort in the world for Vlad to try to step away from that flooding ice. And even that wasn't enough. Ice crawled up his feet, frost reaching along his skin up his legs. A needy groan fell from Vlad's lips as his hands went for the jacket of his suit. He'd thrown it off without thought, his fingers halfway to undoing his ascot before he realized... No...

Vlad growled and pulled away from the floor, snapping the ice. He fled without a word. It was far, far too dangerous for him to stay there. He ran down the corridor, trying to put as much distance between him and that cold, biting, caressing, wonderful chilling ice.

The lab door slammed behind him and Danny slumped. The tendril of ice that had been reaching for Vlad lost direction and fizzled out, fading into random patterns. The room was silent and Danny was alone. "Vlad, you spineless cowered," he muttered. "I will make you pay, just watch…"

He fumed silently. He knew it was likely Vlad would leave him down here all night. He'd have to find a way out of his bonds himself but it would take time and by then the core flare would have died down enough for him to regain his senses. He didn't know whether to be glad or angry about that.

Danny used his powers to wrap his bonds in a layer of ice, smooth the edges so they'd be nice and slippery as soon as the ice began to melt. And then he began the long, tedious process of freeing himself. He wanted out of here. Not to sleep, no, sleep wasn't going to come back for him tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

Co-written between Tangerine Catnip and NebulousMistress

* * *

Vlad poured the tea. Fine china teacups clinked on the table on the balcony overlooking the town. An array of cookies and tea cakes sat on silver serving platters in the middle of the table. Sparrows were singing in the garden. The sounds of the city were muffled by distance and by the hedge on the edge of the property. Secluded, quiet, pretty, even pastoral. Vlad usually enjoyed having tea out here on the balcony, especially on those days when he had nothing else to do. But this time it was different. This time he shared it with the pouting boy tied to the chair next to his. "I invited you properly," Vlad said. "It's not my fault you decided to be late."

"I wasn't intending to show up at all," Danny grumbled. It hadn't even been a week since the 'incident' and if Vlad thought he was just going to walk into his fortress of doom after that little mishap… But of course Vlad hadn't been expecting him to come, that's why he'd been shot with a paralysis dart and dragged here instead. Now he was tied to the chair across from Vlad with the fruitloop acting as though this was completely normal. As though he always had tea with a teenager bound across the chest.

Why Vlad would even want to look him in the eye after what had happened was beyond Danny. He would have been perfectly happy if Vlad fell off the face of the earth, then they never would have had to deal with what happened. He still didn't understand what it was. Honestly he wasn't sure he wanted to know. All he knew was that Vlad had messed with something he shouldn't have and then he ran away like a little bitch. Just like with Vortex.

Danny took a deep breath to calm himself. He had no idea why he was still mad about Vlad running away; it had saved the two of them from acting out the awful things they promised. Surely that was a good thing?

"Tsk, tsk," Vlad admonished. "And after making such a big deal about this whole truce idea of yours. Sugar?" He offered Danny the sugar bowl, tiny silver tongs holding a cube aloft.

Danny crossed his arms. "My truce idea went down the tubes two weeks ago," he drawled flatly. He wondered who's fault that was. He had been the one to kiss Vlad but if anything about this situation was clear it was that accountability was a vague thing, at least when Vlad was involved.

Vlad sweetened his own tea with a cube of sugar before picking up the tiny pot of cream. "Really?" Vlad asked. "You should have informed me then. I could have spent today making evil plans. Cream?"

Danny rolled his eyes. He grabbed the sugar bowl and tipped a pile of cubes into his teacup. He'd play along for now, though saving the truce at this point would be at best a hollow victory. "I'm not going to play games anymore, Vlad," he warned. "Are you seriously considering this or are you just trying to jerk me around?"

There wasn't a civilized bone in the boy's body, Vlad figured. He put the cream pot down and sat back with his own cup of lightly sweetened tea. "Of course I'm seriously considering your offer," he said. "Oh, it'll take some time to get used to it but everything new does. I guess I'll just have to retrain myself not to immediately begin forming evil plans whenever I get bored. Unless you're the one having second thoughts..."

Danny shook his head. "No, no, I..." He sighed, grabbing his cup of tea and taking a long sip. The raw sugar helped him stall for the time he needed to pull his thoughts together. "I guess there's no reason we can't still have a truce." Despite his words he knew of at least two good ones.

"And of course there's the little fact of motivation," Vlad said amicably. "You were the one to suggest we attempt to develop some sort of friendship. I suppose the first step is to schedule time together. How do you propose we go about this? After all, I have the feeling my ideas would leave your teenaged mind somewhat bored after a few scant weeks."

Danny nearly choked on his tea. He had completely forgotten about that part. He put the cup down, staring at Vlad like the elder had just grown a third arm. "Vlad, that's not... you can't really be..." He paused, trying to figure out how to say this without upsetting Vlad. Perhaps he could try 'we should see other people'. "I don't know if that part of the deal is still on the table," Danny allowed. "There are… factors that have come to light that make spending time alone together a very bad idea."

Vlad looked contemplative for a moment, almost as though he'd completely forgotten about the events Daniel referred to. And then he gave the boy a knowing smirk. "I don't think it'll be a problem," he purred before taking a sip of his tea. "After all, I know what's going on."

Danny tensed, his anger rising in his chest. He sorely wanted to punch Vlad right in his smug grin. "Oh you do. Well isn't that comforting. Tell me, did you figure it all out before or after you ran away screaming!"

"I don't recall screaming," Vlad said. "On the other hand, I seem to recall you had some choice words." He sat back in his chair, hands steepled in front of him like a villain with a scheme. "I needed to be sure that's what was happening. Unfortunately it's not really something that can be tested on oneself. At least, not while expecting the same results. Your reaction was... quite conclusive, I must say."

Danny took a deep breath. He should have seen this coming. He wasn't going to let Vlad hand-wave this away by trying to embarrass him. He leaned forward as best he could while being tied to the seat, not even aware of the faint blush on his cheeks. "It doesn't matter one bit how conclusive your results were. You couldn't stop it. This… whatever it is. I know I can't control it and I have serious doubts that you can." He pointed to the ropes around his chest. "What if when it happens again I'm not tied down? "

"Well, it does take considerable effort from at least one of us in order for it to get anywhere near as bad as it did last time," Vlad allowed. "I, for one, was exhausted by the effort it took to drive you that far. Perhaps until you learn to control yourself we should limit physical contact."

Danny sat back again, considering. He hardly remembered the buildup. His memories were all flashes, ice, electricity, illicit words... But it had taken a while, it must have. The hugs that had started this all weren't like that. "We'd better make that a strict limit." _Come on Danny, you were the one that wanted this. Just suck it up. Everything will be fine, you don't want to touch Vlad and he doesn't want to touch you. You'll keep the town safe and maybe fix the fruitloop._ "Okay then, do you have a preferred day of the week?"

Vlad contemplated Danny's question. He'd rather have the boy for more than an hour or two so the weekdays were out. Saturdays the boy likely spent with his little friends. That left Sunday. He had nothing to do on Sundays, hadn't since his accident so many years ago. "Perhaps Sundays work for you," he suggested.

Danny nodded. He usually spent the last day of the week procrastinating on his homework anyway. "All right, fine," he agreed. "We should also make a system for who decides what we get to do, otherwise we'll just end up fighting about it. How about we alternate? I pick something then you pick something."

"Fair enough," Vlad said. "However, let's try to be mature about this. I don't want you to consider this some sort of excuse to make our meetings into a competition to see which one of us can think of the most compromising, demeaning, or embarrassing ordeal for the other to suffer through. I promise you, Daniel, that is not a competition you would win."

"Of course not," Danny said, shaking his head. "Believe me, I would rather jump off several cliffs than have to go through that again." Danny's gaze drifted to the table; those sweets were starting to look yummy. He reached for one as casually as possible and popped the chocolate into his mouth. "Mmmm... Don't forget the idea is to become friends, Vlad," he said, talking with his mouth full. "Why would I defeat the whole point by trying to make you miserable?"

"I have to make sure," Vlad said. "I'd rather be prepared for such possibilities rather than being blindsided by them." He plucked a cookie off of the tray before pushing the tray toward Daniel, just enough to encourage him.

"If only your plans had been this airtight a few other times it would have saved me a lot of grief," Danny muttered. He took advantage of the offered tray as he looked over the table at Vlad. Not for the first time he wondered if this was a good idea.

The only way to know for sure was to try.

* * *

Danny hadn't told anyone he was going to visit Vlad. He'd told Sam and Tucker that the whole plan failed miserably. If Danny admitted it hadn't then they would want to know why he'd said it had and then what happened and then... He couldn't tell them. He didn't even understand what had happened, how would they? No, that was a secret he intended to take to his grave.

He arrived on Vlad's doorstep precisely when he said he would in case Vlad had any more snipers with darts. One of his parent's ghost-radiation proof satchels hung over one shoulder. Now he needed to make it to Vlad's laboratory. He had told Vlad to let him look for it but the elder didn't like him poking around for hidden switches and so spoiled it by leaving the 'secret' door wide open. Danny hopped down the stairs, hoping he would find the ghost portal rather than the room he had been tied up in. Fortunately, wide open doors pointed him to the weapons development lab and then to the huge double doors of Vlad's ghost portal. It was nearly three times the size of the one in Fentonworks. The size was probably for show unless Vlad had plans to back a semi-truck into the Ghost Zone or something.

Vlad waited in his lab. He was finishing up a few little projects, tinkering with something simple that he wouldn't mind terribly if it were lost. Truce or no, old habits die hard. The exceptionally clear path to his portal was the result of one such habit.

Danny took off his backpack and transformed, shooting Vlad a grin. "You and I are going to go find a fish," he proclaimed proudly.

"A... fish..." Vlad repeated. "And what sort of fish would this be? Don't tell me we're going to be using worms."

"The magical wishing kind," Danny explained. He pulled his pack back on now that it wouldn't get warped away with his human clothes. "There's a fountain the heart of the Ghost Zone where it lives. I've heard rumors about it but I've never been able to get there. I usually get lost or attacked by one of my enemies before I can reach it." He leaned over and stretched out his legs, limbering up just in case. "So we are going on a road trip to go visit the fish and get our wishes granted, or destiny revealed or darkest secrets exposed. I'm not quite clear on what the fish does exactly."

Vlad had heard of this so-called 'mystic fish' and the Fountain of Yearning or whatever the thing was called. Supposedly it required an offering and then it would grant the seeker's deepest desires or show them the path to righteousness or whatever. Vlad didn't believe in those legends. But... If the boy wanted to spend the day meandering the Ghost Zone in search of something that didn't exist, well, that was his choice.

"In that case, I need to fetch something for the, ah, fish,"Vlad said. He left Danny standing in the lab while he went in search of something he could toss away as an 'offering' to a story that didn't exist. He took ghost form to speed his hunt. Something a legend would accept... Many legends tended toward precious metals... Coinage... Ah yes... Vlad flew down into a curio vault and picked a silver coin he'd lifted several years prior from a museum display. Some sort of pirate hoard or something. This would do.

Meanwhile, Danny poked around eyeballing some of the projects Vlad was working on. They looked pretty complicated and he hoped none of them were anything dangerous. He wanted to go over to get a better look but something told him that was a bad idea. He distracted himself with the portal instead, touching his fingers to the divide between worlds. Maybe he should have picked something normal for their first meeting but the idea had been stuck in head and he wasn't going to waste this chance. He had been wanting to go, had been trying to go for years and he always got turned around for various reasons. But this time... there was no way he would miss out again, not with Vlad at his side.

Vlad returned, phasing through the ceiling and Danny nodded to him. It looked like they were ready to leave. Danny stepped through the milky green wall and into the Zone.

Vlad followed the boy through the event horizon, feeling the pull of dimensions as reality inverted. Always somewhat disconcerting. No matter, this was Daniel's plan for the day. He deferred to the boy. "So where is this fountain, do you think?" he asked.

Danny reached into the pocket of his bag and drew a well-used piece of paper. "I almost made it last time before Spectra and I crossed paths," he said. He shivered and shook his head, she was always the worst to run into when doing something that might go wrong. "Anyway, I marked the spot on my map." He unfolded the map, revealing cartoonish drawings and dotted line pathways drawn in colored pencils. "So right now we're between the Valley of Screams and Doom Mountain. So we need to go... northeast?"

Vlad squinted at Daniel's rough little map. He tilted it a bit, making sure the landmarks lined up correctly. "East, z-minus 45 degrees," he corrected. "The Mountain of Doom and Doom Mountain are two different landmarks. You need a better map, my boy, something that takes three dimensions into account. That or the ghosts need more imaginative names for their lairs."

Danny shrugged. "Tucker was working on it but I don't know if his PDA has the power to run a program like that. Besides, you've been a ghost for twenty years. You must have some sense of this place."

"I've never sought the Fountain of Yearning," Vlad admitted. He flew off in the likely direction, trusting Danny to follow him. "Or, at least that's the name it had when I first heard of it. Prophecy was never something I put a whole lot of stock into. I've always made my own destiny. Even when I had to steal it."

"And that's a fact then?" Danny asked, dodging around some floating doors. "What about when you told the infimap to take you to your destiny? If you knew what you wanted why didn't you ask it for that instead?"

"And you think I didn't make my own destiny each time the map unceremoniously dropped me adrift in time and space?" Vlad asked. "I worked for what I had. Every time. Consider, Daniel, how long does it take to become fluent in any given language? I had to **learn** Latin through immersion. Rome wasn't conquered in a day." He flew easily through the Ghost Zone at a lazy pace. His cape rippled behind him like great bat wings gently flapping in the gloomy atmosphere.

"So you don't believe in fate at all? What about your powers? Do you really think you were just unlucky? That there wasn't a reason behind it?"

"I don't like the idea of some higher power dictating my actions," Vlad said. "I haven't since the accident. And yes, that's what it was. An accident caused by your father's stupidity and inability to look at where's he's pointing a device. A simple pause and a 'stand back' would have allowed me to keep my humanity. There was no mysterious 'reason' behind my transformation. Nor yours. The fact that we're both half ghost, that we know each other, that we have similar powers, it all has more to do with the swathe of destruction that follows your father than anything resembling 'fate'."

Danny flipped over onto his back, arms outstretched as he flew. That answered his question then. He was tempted to argue but he didn't think it would help. "You know, I can never tell if you hate or love your powers sometimes," he mused. "One moment it's 'look at all the power and money I have isn't my life wonderful' then the next it's 'Jack ruined my life and stole Maddie, everything is his fault'."

"I don't love them," Vlad admitted. "I never have. I **use** them. At best I tolerate them. They're a daily reminder of what happened to me. It's..." Vlad sighed and flew ahead. He didn't want to get into this. It might cause the boy to want to hug him again and that hadn't gone well the last time.

Danny frowned. He didn't know why he kept going right for the hard questions when it came to Vlad. Maybe he was just too curious about the other hybrid for his own good. He wanted to know what made Vlad tick, to see the little cogs that formed his ideas and thoughts and drove him to do evil. Wanted to see why he hated himself and why he surrounded himself with money and things, maybe even find the truth behind his inability to connect with other people.

Danny hadn't wanted to know before. He hadn't cared to. But now... Vlad was the only example of his own kind he had and there was so much he didn't understand. Just two weeks ago it had backfired on both of them and Danny felt something that he was sure no human could feel. He could probably never get anyone to understand whatever that was... but Vlad had instantly. What if they were just scratching the surface to the secrets of their existence? He didn't want to have to be alone in his plight. Vlad was proof enough that the loneliness was more lethal that any portal accident.

They flew in uncomfortable silence, Vlad leading and Danny flying silently behind. Danny's curiosity wouldn't stay quiet, though, and he found himself breaking that silence. "You know I've just realized," he said, flying faster so he could elbow Vlad in the ribs. "You've never tried to rule over the Ghost Zone even though it's arguably the more powerful place."

Vlad looked around them, at the vast fields of green aether undulating with the currents of reality. Physics had different constants here, forces different meaning. Even after twenty four years this wasn't his dimension. It didn't feel right. The initial sense of wrongness he'd felt here so long ago had never gone away. He worked through here, used it, toyed with its inhabitants, but he never considered ruling it. It wasn't... real. "Why? Should I attempt to rule this realm?" he asked.

"I dunno," Danny said, shrugging his shoulders. "It worked fine for Pariah and you have better luck convincing ghosts to do your bidding than he did. And if you had the power of the Ghost Zone behind you, Earth would be a piece of cake." He winced as he realized what he'd just said. "Not that you should actually do that because that would be evil."

"Careful, Daniel, you might give me ideas," Vlad mocked. But they were all ideas he'd already had and dismissed. The idea of ruling the Ghost Zone did not sit well with him. It would feel too much like abandoning everything he'd worked for in the human realm, like abandoning all his work toward regaining some measure of his humanity. If he won the Ghost Zone... it would mean he'd lost. "I can be evil in plenty of other ways, don't you worry about that," he said.

Danny rolled his eyes. "As long as you don't hurt anyone you can be as evil as you like." He flew ahead and rolled onto his back. The best thing about flying in the Zone was the long stretches of nothing, no worries about slamming into anything. "Okay, it's your turn to ask a question."

Vlad watched the boy drifting through the currents, lazing about as though their dizzying speed was nothing more than an afternoon swim through a gentle stream. He didn't seem to have a care in the world and unlike him it didn't feel like a mask. It felt... real. "How do you do it?" Vlad asked.

"Do what?" Danny asked. "Fly? Because that's pretty easy. You jump off a building and hope for the best. Having ghost powers helps."

"Not that," Vlad snapped. He wasn't even sure why he asked, what he was hoping to accomplish. Just... He needed to know. And he might never get the chance again. "How do you do it? How do you be like this and not..." He trailed off. He shouldn't have asked.

Danny bit his lip. He wasn't quite sure what Vlad wanted from him. "Well, Jazz always says you have to be happy with yourself before you can truly connect with others," he said. "No matter how much you love someone they can't always be with you. The only person who's going to be there for every second of your life is you."

"How trite," Vlad said. "No matter where you go there you are, hmm?" He huffed. "The only people who honestly believe such drivel are those who've never found reason to dislike themselves. Unlike your sheltered sister I've seen a mirror." Vlad flew off ahead, not wanting to let himself say any more. He'd already said too much.

The rest of the way there Danny stuck behind Vlad, internally kicking himself for picking such a heavy conversation topic. Thankfully it wasn't much longer before they started seeing indications they were approaching the pond. A huge rock platform drew closer with what seemed to be trees, flowers, grass growing out of it. The mismatched pair alighted on the edge of the rock.

Danny nearly gaped when he saw the small crowd of ghosts milling about the garden. He tensed, ready for battle, but none of them seemed interested in attacking. A small line formed a respectful distance from the small shallow pool and its little fountain as each ghost took a turn at the water's edge. No one spoke above a hushed whisper.

Vlad viewed the wide array of varied creatures with veiled disdain. Their demeanor reminded him of a cathedral. There were the true believers over there, there were the gawking tourists here simply to see and watch and claim they'd been here, there were the historians attempting to piece some sense of time from their surroundings, and there were the little posers trying to feed off of the seriousness all around them. And now he'd be forced into a role, dragged into a group and judged, silently judged by everyone around him. Vlad sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He glanced toward Daniel. They were here because the boy suggested it so Vlad would defer. For now.

Danny watched the crowd for a few moments to try to see what the social protocols were. No one seemed interested in approaching the fish after the last ghost left. He slid his backpack off his shoulders and pressed the button on the side to depressurize the container. "I'm going to need a second to get my offering out, why don't you go ahead?" he asked as he fiddled with it.

Vlad hated dealings in the Ghost Zone, at least those done in person without proxies. Bystanders always took the opportunity to stare. And the majority of the ghosts here were staring at them, observing them, waiting to see what the two half-ghosts would do. He pushed ahead, taking his silver coin out of a pocket.

The fountain stood in the middle of a clearing, a pool of water gently marred by a splashing spring welling up from some rocks in the middle. Vlad stepped closer to get a better look. The pool was carpeted with shining metal coins. Silver, gold, copper, platinum, and some rarer and more interesting. Jewels and precious stones dotted the treasure within, treasure that almost seemed to climb over the rocks at the center. Treasure that looked to have been collected here over centuries, millennia. Longer. Vlad's own tarnished silver coin seemed almost unworthy.

And then he saw the fish. Any feelings of inadequacy fell away. It was a fat goldfish, its orange scales looking dull and mundane against the shining treasure it swam over. Long fins, a billowing tail, and bulging eyes did nothing to give it flair, instead made it look ragged and tired. This... was the legendary fish. Vlad felt almost disappointed.

The fish bubbled under the surface and looked up. The rippling water distorted the face of the new ghost who came to seek its advice. The face was familiar to the fish, as was everyone's, for it knew every ghost in the Zone including the two halfas. It could sense that this hybrid had not come here on his own free will. Those who didn't seek it out on their own were always doubtful of it's abilities. It disliked when that happened; being pushed to seek guidance often resulted in misinterpretation. Answers presented without a question tended to lead to confusion.

Vlad looked down at the fish. It looked back at him, it's mouth forming fishy gasps. Vlad looked back at Danny before sighing and accepting what he had to do. The coin was held out over the water and dropped.

_Splish._

And then the next step. Vlad reached down to the surface of the water and touched it.

* * *

The world changed. The fountain froze, the fish trapped in place. The ghosts around him all dissolved, even Daniel turning to dust and blowing away. Vlad reached out for him but he couldn't get there in time.

The world crumbled. Vlad stood alone on the stone island, adrift in a sea of ice. He looked back at the fountain, trying to figure out what was going on but instead of frozen water there was a spire. At the top of that spire... Vlad wanted it.

He jumped but his feet wouldn't leave the ground for long, falling back to the rock. So he couldn't fly then. Fine. He began to climb. The rock face was slippery, cold, numbing. Wind whipped at him, grabbing his cape and dragging at it, trying to pull him off of the spire. It slammed him into the rock, forcing him to unlatch the chain holding it on. A flash of red as his cape flew away into the storm, disappearing in driving snow.

Yet still he climbed. Alone, no one to help him but himself, no one to rely upon, no one to disappoint. No one to stop him as he reached the top of the spire and found it. Encased in ice, the key to his power, his happiness, his future, his destiny. A golden crown befitting the ruler of the world. He slammed his fist into the ice. He howled as his fingers broke. But the ice was unmarred. There had to be another way...

The world fell away...

* * *

Danny saw Vlad freeze and go silent, staring into the cool water like he'd been hypnotized. He clutched the plastic container from his backpack tightly. A bad feeling began rising in his belly. Then Vlad moved, gasping for air like he'd forgotten how to breath. Danny started to rush towards him but someone laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to punch the ghost.

"Don't worry, dear, that's what's supposed to happen. He'll be just fine."

Danny felt sheepish. He'd been prepared to hit the ghost of a little old lady with a camera. He nodded and ducked under her arm, walking over to Vlad. "You okay?" he asked softly, offering a hand.

Vlad found himself taking Daniel's hand just to reassure himself that the boy was real. Once he was relatively sure Vlad pulled back and nodded. "I'm... fine," he said. Now that the rush was fading he was more confused than anything else. So the legends had some truth to them. But what did that vision mean? Was it prophecy? Was it mocking him? Was it some sort of warning?

Danny couldn't help but notice how absentminded Vlad was. He decided to give him time to think things over while he made his own offering. He opened the container he'd been holding and sat down by the grass near the pool. "Wow, you're a huge goldfish," he said, looking it over. "Not fat by the way… just huge." He laughed nervously and hoped the fish wasn't on a diet. He reached into the container and produced a sandwich. Not any old sandwich, this was his favorite: a mix of marshmallows and peanut butter, delicately balanced so the sugar didn't overwhelm the peanut. He only allowed himself this snack on special occasions and he was sure the fish would like it just as much as he did.

"Peanut butter and marshmallow," he told the fish proudly. "I figure you get hungry living in this small pond all day and breadcrumbs seemed too plain for a magic fish." The goldfish bubbled back at him. He dropped the sandwich into the water. To his surprise the bread didn't get soggy, rather it hung there in front of the fish, perfectly intact.

Danny shook his head and touched the water. His vision flashed bright white before he found himself alone in darkness.

* * *

Pain shot across his back. Cracks formed along the ground and the street. Danny was in Amity Park and there was something wrong, something horribly wrong. An inhuman roar shook the streets followed by waves of screams. A crowd of people were packed tightly together around him. Some were crying and clutching each other, others stared in shock like their whole world was falling apart. Around them all was a glowing green dome… a ghost shield? No, he was the source of it. He was holding this shield over them.

He couldn't fight. He'd tried. Now he was doing everything he could to keep them all safe. One last stand.

But that couldn't be it. These people trusted him. There had to be a way to save them, there had to be!

The ground shook at the darkness closed in, bringing with it blood red ghosts, a whole swarm of them too twisted to make out any definitive shapes. With large fangs and clawed feet they descended on his shield and began to rip and tear at it. Screams rose around him, the high voices of children begging their mothers to make it go away. Make it all go away...

Danny groaned, pouring all his strength into keeping these people safe. For a second he had hope and then his power began to fail. Like a candle lit at both ends he felt himself losing strength at an alarming rate. Teeth and claws ripped through his shield. Cracks began to form, holes opening up. Fanged maws and clawed paws stuck through and made swipes at the people inside.

_No... NO!_ It wasn't going to end like this. Danny screamed in rage as his strength broke. The shield began to buckle; he couldn't shore it up as tears were rent through his energy. A ghost burst through but he couldn't stop it as it descended on the nearest humans. The horrible sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking drowned out the screams for one horrible second.

He couldn't look, he just couldn't. Tears streamed from his eyes and Danny shut them tightly as his shield shattered around him. His last drop of power failed him, forcing him out of his ghost form. Then he fell, the sea of murderous red ghosts surging to meet him. Danny screamed. And once again the world faded.

Time reversed. The word spun.

The screams came back. The shield was still above him, intact but buckling. It wasn't over yet. But he still couldn't stop them. Even with all his power and practice it wasn't going to be enough. These people didn't deserve this, he was meant to protect them. Danny lowered his head, his power slipping away as the monsters broke though. "I'm sorry," he stammered as tears flooded his eyes. "I'm so sorry." The weight of holding the shield disappeared and Danny braced himself for the sounds of death.

"Let go, Little Badger. I've got you."

_V-Vlad?_

Arms wrapped around his chest and Danny looked up to see the shield reformed. Pink ectoenergy filled the cracks, reinforcing the defenses. The drain on his strength slowed; it felt like someone was helping him hold a heavy object. This was easy, he could hold this up forever. Danny laughed, relief flooding him. He wanted to hug Vlad but the elder was already holding him tightly. He pressed his glowing hands to Vlad's, pink and green light mixing. He could feel Vlad's chin resting on his shoulder and he nuzzled back into Vlad's chest.

Danny felt his body shaking, the terror still fresh in his veins. "I, I thought everyone was going to die… I can't..." He was crying again, he couldn't help it.

Vlad hummed softly and rubbed the boy's back in soothing circles. "Hush, it's all right. Everything's going to be all right now." Vlad pulled his cape around Danny, wrapping him in its soft silk.

Danny whimpered softly, slowly calming down. At least until the sounds of explosions rocked the streets. He snapped his head up, eyes looking for the source of the sound. A low drone could be heard over the din; Danny recognized it as miniature jet engines and...

"Valerie!" Danny cried, nearly bolting from Vlad's arms. "What's she doing outside the shield?" The Red Huntress's hoverboard floated above the half circle of power, her bazooka loaded for another shot at the army of ghosts on her tail.

"It looks like she's doing fine on her own," Vlad said. "Your parents will be here soon to give her back-up."

Valerie lined up a shot, blowing no less than five of the things to ashes. "Mom and Dad are out there?" Danny whispered just before a second explosion rang out, this time from a much larger cannon. The Specter Speeder streaked across the sky, all seventeen of its weapons going full blast.

Vlad groaned and Danny snapped to attention. His concentration had drifted from holding the shield. He rested his head on Vlad's chest and poured his power back into keeping the people safe, hardly able to believe this nightmare might have a happy ending.

Danny's eyes met Vlad's blood-red ones. "Thank you," he murmured softly, pulling Vlad even closer as he leaned up, their lips almost touching as the world fell away...

* * *

A sandwich. The boy was going to toss a sandwich in for the fish. Worse, a sandwich made of disgusting non-food... things. Still, the fish took it. Maybe the fish was much less discriminating than legend claimed it to be.

Daniel touched the water and then went still. Vlad took a step forward but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off but didn't advance. And then the boy tensed, his face open in a silent scream. He began to fall backward.

The observers surged forward. Vlad shot in first, grabbing the boy before he could hit the ground. Oppressive hands, presences, voices surged closer, coming to drag him away. Vlad snarled, the sound echoing across the stone. The surge stopped as Vlad growled at them all, fangs bared. He would not let them steal him...

Wait, what was he thinking? He almost dropped the boy when cold hands fisted themselves in his tunic. Daniel pressed himself against Vlad, whimpering in the midst of his vision. Vlad held him close and lifted him off the ground; the boy seemed to take comfort in that. Daniel relaxed, melted into whatever vision that trapped him. He grew colder as he relaxed, as his closed eyes fluttered with the vision behind them.

The surge of presence around them pressed forward again. Cold lips pressed up toward his, seeking contact. Vlad's breath caught in his throat and he growled his displeasure. Not again, not now. He dropped the boy in a grand gesture before glaring out at the assembled.

Danny groaned as he sat up stiffly, looking from Vlad to the crowd of ghosts surrounding them. "Did anyone get the license plate of that truck?" he asked, chuckling softly. He covered his humor with a cough when it became apparent nobody found it funny. Everyone just kept staring at him. Danny gave them all a curious look. Besides the ache he felt just fine, a little woozy but fine, a little shaken as he tried to think about what he'd just seen but fine. "Did something happen while I was out?" he asked.

The murmurs began around them. Vlad caught snippets of their voices before they all ran together into a voiceless hum.

"Never seen anyone collapse like that during a-" "Did you see the way Plasmius acted?" "Maybe the fish didn't like Phantom's-" "He sounded like an animal." "Aren't they enemies? I thought-" "Was Phantom about to flare? In public? How disgustingly-"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Vlad assured Danny, glaring at the assembled horde. "But perhaps we should not linger."

Danny nodded and got to his feet. He grabbed his backpack and followed Vlad off island.

Inside the pool the fish watched them with interest. It hoped they both understood what they had been taught. More than just their lives depended on them. Much more.


End file.
